


Is that barbecue sauce?

by pocketsebastian



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: M/M, Other, first foray into wtnv fanfic pls be gentle, kevin redemption arc 2k16, pls be barbecue sauce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:05:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketsebastian/pseuds/pocketsebastian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How about," Cecil's voice came from the living room, where he was flipping through the calendar with a frown tugging at his lips, "We have a barbecue? Invite Old Woman Josie, Janice, Dana, Maureen and Michelle?" Carlos glanced up from a comically thick science book that he had been reading. It's contents was the words 'oxygen-potassium' repeating, and in the middle was a recipe for a fantastic blueberry pie. "It'd make it, you know, a bit easier for Kevin." At this, Carlos raised an eyebrow. Cecil didn't often show that kind of consideration for Kevin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Is that barbecue sauce?

The heat had scorched Night Vale. Quite literally. Businesses were prone to bursting into flame. As were citizens. Though, that wasn't entirely new. But the frequency had risen in the last few days of the heat wave. Government created heat wave, actually. Everyone had received notice that citizens should get affairs in order, just in case.

Mayor Dana had declared Wednesday a town holiday, where everyone was encouraged to not work. And, of course, by encouraged, that meant that, temporarily, everyone was unemployed, and showing up to work was punishable by temporary nonexistence, gout, and mysterious figures stealing that which the offender held most dear. It was well-known that the only reason that rule was in effect was because of Kevin.

Kevin was having difficulty with all of this.

Since his arrival in Night Vale, and the following relationship that had grown between him, Cecil, and Carlos, he had proven that just because he was no longer with StrexCorp did not mean that his productivity and enthusiasm for working went away. No, anything but. He threw himself into his work--sometimes quite literally--with as much enthusiasm as an ex-human-now-Eldritch-Abomination could. Missing work always left him upset and uncomfortable, and prone to anger outbursts that Carlos had deemed as "leftover residue from StrexCorp Re-Education that would hopefully one day stop now Kevin please stop trying to bite Cecil you need to sit down and rest".

The day off from work, even if it was expected, had him on edge.

That was putting it lightly.

"How about," Cecil's voice came from the living room, where he was flipping through the calendar with a frown tugging at his lips, "We have a barbecue? Invite Old Woman Josie, Janice, Dana, Maureen and Michelle?" Carlos glanced up from a comically thick science book that he had been reading. It's contents was the words 'oxygen-potassium' repeating, and in the middle was a recipe for a fantastic blueberry pie. "It'd make it, you know, a bit easier for Kevin." At this, Carlos raised an eyebrow. Cecil didn't often show that kind of consideration for Kevin.

While they were indeed all dating, and it was mostly happy, it wasn't exactly a secret that in the scheme of things, it was mostly Cecil and Carlos dating, and Kevin and Carlos dating, with a mostly sex buddy relationship between Cecil and Kevin. Not, of course, because the two didn't have feelings for each other, but their past did make things difficult, and Kevin occasionally flitted between his current self and, well, whatever he had been under Strex. So, that made things difficult. It was fine, though. Everyone was happy with the relationship. Kevin kept his distance, was all. As did Cecil. Neither wanted to overstep boundaries, and Kevin was 'delicate' to put it gently.

"Well, we're all rarely home together on the same day, in the same time. So, scientifically speaking," Carlos said, shutting his book with a smile. "I can cook! I took a cooking class in college. It's all science, after all, introducing heat to various organic materials and not burning it--"

"I was thinking Kevin could cook actually. Productive day and all that. Keeps him from having a meltdown and, y'know, having, er, his Strex side come out," Cecil interrupted, his nose crinkling at the thought. It wasn't that he hated--ok, no, he did. He hated what StrexCorp had done to Kevin, and thus hated Kevin when his StrexCorp Persona came out. Hearing Kevin call him "Sesil" and the unsettling smile, not to mention the blood that would seep from his usually bloodless sewn third eye. It brought back unpleasant memories. Memories of Carlos in the Otherworld, of Kevin in his--their, now--radio station.

"Oh."

"I mean, you can cook dinner tonight."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'd really rather Kevin have a good day today, anyway. He was on edge all day when he came home yesterday after the show."

There was a creak, and for once it wasn't The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home announcing her presence and approval--or disapproval--at the decorations. The two looked away from each other towards the source, seeing Kevin staring at them from his wheelchair, visibly vibrating from the stress. His lips were twitching with the effort to not smile.

Carlos had once asked why he smiled when stressed and his Strex Persona came out. It was natural, of course. He'd spent, well, an undetermined-but-lengthy time smiling. And even if the situation was awful, well, not smiling certainly had never been an option. A slight smile of neutrality, sure, and even a passive aggressive but otherwise polite smile was acceptable, but outright frowning? Scowling? Gosh, no.

"I couldn't help but hear," came the lilting voice that made Cecil's blood run cold and Carlos sigh dismally, "That you wanted to invite people over?" There was a silence between the two, and this time they did hear the scurry of the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home on their ceiling, presumably coming in to listen.

"Yeah, Kev. Figured you'd like something to do. You can cook. I'll call everyone over. Carlos will…" Cecil looked at his boyfriend, a brief look of adoration passing over his face. "Carlos will get the backyard ready."

Carlos perked up instantly at that suggestion. Out of everyone's decorating skills, that was a job definitely best left for the scientist. Cecil's own fashion sense was "interesting" and his decoration skills were even more "interesting", and no one in Night Vale enjoyed seeing Kevin's decorations, much to the morning radio host's disappointment. No one enjoyed animal blood pouring down the ceiling onto them, after all, and no one liked seeing various organs and feathers attached to the wall.

As the sun set into what would be the most comfortable position that would allow the town a brief break from the heat by a few degrees, guests arrived. Kevin was at the stove, apron draped over his lap and a spatula in hand as he prodded the synthetic meat patties he was cooking. Most people were in the backyard, lounging, discussing whatever unproductive things they'd done during their temporary firing. Kevin's discomfort was kept at bay, at least, and that was really all Cecil and Carlos could ask for. Once the ~~horrid~~ day was over, Kevin would be fine. They hoped, at least. It was hard to tell with him.

"--ust getting their adult gills, I'm so happy for them! No, no, I'll go check on the food, Carlos, it's fine," came Cecil's voice, the patio door sliding open. Kevin's head shot up, and he offered Cecil a smile, one that actually looked natural and mostly at ease. "How's the food coming, Kevin?" Cecil asked, leaning against the counter casually as he watched Kevin turn back to the meal, noting everything about the Bluffian and measuring his mood carefully.

"Fine, just fine. Almost done. I just need the, uhm, the barbecue sauce. For flavor. Synthetic meat isn't exactly flavorful, at least not here in Night Vale." Kevin swallowed hard on a lump in his throat, and it scurried back down. Night Vale certainly wasn't home, but it was becoming home to him. Slowly, ever so slowly. Snails pace slowly.

"Oh, and I'm sure Desert Bluffs had better?" Cecil was still biased against the town. Or, what remained of it. Kevin had made Carlos take him to what remained of the town "for science". It was not a pleasant day. Most of the Bluffians had gone to Desert Bluffs Too, and those who hadn't now resided in Night Vale and had mostly left behind the Smiling God, though their personalities from StrexCorp mostly remained. Kevin was the only one thus far who had somewhat reverted to his old self. With the absence of anyone in Old Desert Bluffs, the town had become a mere faded version of itself. Plants had overrun the town, packs of wild dogs had taken over, and Ghosts had made it, quite literally, a Ghost Town. Carlos and Kevin had been run out due to Carlos' definite state of living and Kevin's debatable state of 'being dead on the inside some days'.

"Yes. In fact. They were. Despite our decorations involving animal parts, not many people actually ate meat. Synthetic meats had to be flavorful or no one would touch them. And I wouldn't have to season any of this if someone hadn't lied to a past version of me." As Kevin spoke, he grabbed the bottle of barbecue sauce and attempted to twist the top off. When it refused to budge, Kevin gave a low growl and twisted harder, his lips pressing into a thin line, resisting the urge to curse. Vulgar language. Kevin still tried to avoid vulgar language. "Oh, would you fffffuc--come on--ridiculous," he growled under his breath, jerking back when Cecil's hand flew in front of him, grabbing at the bottle. Instantly, he tightened his hold on the bottle, glowering at Cecil and pulling back when Cecil grabbed it. A squabble ensued.

"Here let me get that--Kevin would you give me the damn--Kevin!" There was a 'pop!', a splat, and then the sound of Cecil landing on his back on the floor and glass shattering. The commotion clearly drew attention from the outside, because Carlos came rushing in, eyes wide at the sight in front of him.

Cecil was flat on his back, barbecue sauce covering his chest and shards of glass surrounding him. Kevin was staring down at the radio host, face a mixture of anger and shock, equally covered in barbecue sauce. The tint, though, made the sauce distinctly look like, well, not barbecue sauce.

"Oh for the love of--please, _please_ , tell me that's barbecue sauce, Kevin. _Please_ oh my gosh we need a first aid kit otherwise," Carlos said, once he found his voice. Murder, or attempted murder, at a lunch party on an otherwise relaxing day was not how this was supposed to go.

Kevin blinked a few times, gaping at the scene in front of him before he finally swallowed and looked at Carlos helplessly. "For once in my life, yes! It is! Oh my Smiling God, Cecil, are you okay?! I'm so sorry! I don't know--I mean I _do_ know what came over--please don't be hurt oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" Kevin said as he wheeled himself forward and then lowered himself out of his chair, reaching tentatively forward before pulling back. "I didn't mean to oh my Smiling--please be okay."

There was a resounding groan from the evening radio host, and he sat up, bits of glass falling off of his shirt and onto his lap. He reached up and ran a hand over his face, smearing the sauce before he realized what he was doing. "….You owe me a new tunic," came his, rather upset and dismal, reply, before he looked at Kevin. There was a tense moment before Cecil pulled Kevin close by his lapel and pressed a kiss to Kevin's forehead. "It's alright. I'm fine. Completely fine. Radio hosts are _always_ fine."

**Author's Note:**

> I was out at Applebees with my gf and her cast crew from her play and we got ribs. I made a mess of myself with barbecue sauce and she said, "is that barbecue sauce?" my automatic reaction, "FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, YES." Thus fanfic was born. I'm also entirely here for a redemption arc for Kevin. He is my sinflower son.


End file.
